Chapter Fifty-Four You Hear That Call

  "Boom boom boom~~~~"

  The knocking sound came again from outside the door, Wu Zhaolin sat motionlessly on the wooden bench inside the house with an expressionless face. However, upon closer inspection, his eyebrows still involuntarily furrowed slightly when the knocking sound occurred.

  "Please forgive my rudeness, and I implore you to consider this carefully... My revolution is not for the benefit of a few families or individuals, but rather a selfless act for the country. You are also a son of the Han Chinese, why would you want to die for those barbaric Tartars who have stolen our sacred Chinese artifacts and slaughtered millions of my fellow Han Chinese? Wouldn't that bring shame to heroes all over the world?"

  He changed into a majestic military uniform, and at this time he had already been appointed as the acting commander of the Fifth Regiment of the Great Chinese Revolutionary Army. After putting on a striking military uniform, he had an air of elegance about him, and his demeanor suddenly became even more impressive than when they met before.

  “....”

  Wu Zhaolin lowered his head and remained silent.

  Xiong Bingkun was not annoyed, after a hard-won persuasion, he finally convinced the revolutionary officers to unanimously recommend Wu Zhaolin, who was superior to him in both command and ability, to take charge of the uprising, and now it was his second time to persuade him.

  "I'm afraid there's some resentment in my heart, but at that time you and I were on different sides, bullets don't have eyes on the battlefield, Brother Huang's death is regrettable, please don't be too sad... After the matters in the city are settled, I will personally visit your doorstep, bring that comrade to Brother Huang's door to apologize... If there are still elderly and children at home, Dai Qian is not talented, but as long as I, Xiong Mouren, am still alive, I won't let them go hungry for a single meal. Sir, this is a critical moment of life and death, the turning point of China's revolution, we Han Chinese should unite and work together to overthrow the Manchu Qing dynasty under Sun Yat-sen's wise leadership, and become a strong country like our neighbor Japan in the East, rather than calculating personal gains and losses here..."

  As he spoke of accountability and warning, Wu Zhaolin's face finally changed a few times, the corners of his mouth moved several times, and his head was also raised a bit, but in the end, there was still no reaction, and he remained sitting indifferently on the bench.

  "Sir, you were once a student in Japan and must know the changes that have taken place there over the past thirty years. That country is no larger than a bullet, with a population less than one-seventh of China's and wealth less than one-third of ours. Yet, after patriots within the country opened up the people's minds, they defeated Russia, a strong European power, in the Far East just thirty-odd years later and became a world power themselves. Originally, Japanese people were viewed as inferior to Europeans when they traveled abroad, but now they are considered equal. Japan has one of the top five navies in the world, able to roam freely across the seas and defend its borders against enemies. What about China? The Manchu rulers have stolen our sacred institutions, humiliated our sisters, and treated our Han children like slaves. These enemies of the Han people enjoy the benefits of our country's sacred institutions, oppressing the people at home and kowtowing to foreigners abroad, selling out national interests. There are a thousand examples of traitorous treaties and recently the Sichuan railway incident... Sir, why do you still not wake up?"

  "I know, sir, that you are an enlightened gentleman who had once joined the 'Know- Daily Society', but only because of seeing the infighting and the inclusion of some inferior and troublesome gangsters, plus your expectation for the 'Constitutional Monarchy' advocated by Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, did you gradually distance yourself from us revolutionaries. But today's situation is clear to you as well, isn't it? The Qing dynasty's farce has been ongoing, and the imperial court's loud slap in the face hasn't awakened you yet? Many righteous scholars emerge from the grasslands, true, but I know that there are also some inferior gangsters within our Progressive Association, however, sir, you can't deny the entire association based on one person's virtue. Moreover, compared to the thieving and bullying Qing dynasty, aren't we revolutionaries better than those barbaric Tartars?"

  Xiong Bingkun's words became bolder and more furious as he spoke, his voice growing louder without him realizing it.

  "I also ask the gentleman to help me, as many of the soldiers in my city's uprising are ordinary soldiers who do not understand the tactics of formation and command. The gentleman is a great talent, having participated in the autumn maneuvers at Changde and Taihu, with rich experience, and has even personally compiled several military strategy books. Although I also have some knowledge, it is still far inferior to yours... Please, sir, think of our 400 million compatriots and join me in overthrowing the Manchu Qing dynasty's rule, drive those Tartars back to their cold northern lands, and retake our Chinese divine vessel..."

  "Why is it me?"

  Half a moment later, Wu Zhaolun's face was also gloomy and uncertain, and he suddenly asked.

  "It's very simple, just as I said before, sir is good at commanding arrays, the thousands of soldiers in my city are all low-ranking officers who don't understand military tactics..."

  When he finally spoke up, Xiong Bingkun hastily explained for him, but his words had only gone halfway when Wu Zhaolun interrupted him.

  "Feign an attack on the east gate to attract my attention, then take advantage of the heavy artillery to break through the north gate and capture Chuwangtai. The fact that they can come up with such a strategy shows that the revolutionary army is not lacking in people who know tactics. Wu's defeated general is not good at hiding his expertise in military formations... Why don't you invite this person to come and direct?"

  Xiong Bingkun fell silent for a moment, he couldn't say that this effect was unexpected, let alone the other party's words were obviously an excuse, did they have to pay such a great sacrifice just for a feint? Moreover, he wasn't even clear about the reason why Li Hansheng had pushed up several more big cannons, so he could only respond with silence.

  "This matter is a bit complicated to explain, if Mr. still has interest after this, I will give a detailed explanation to Mr."

  The sound of the big guns in the direction of the city's Du Shi office finally rang out, accompanied by the sound of the guns, there was also a faint cry that could be heard in the city. Xiong Bingkun listened carefully for a moment, and his face suddenly became more excited. "Do you hear that cry, sir? The sound of the cannon is coming from the direction of Du Shi office, our artillery is bombarding Du Shi office..."

  He finally saw a change in his face, and Xiong Bingkun adjusted his military uniform. "The one who commanded the artillery to bombard the governor's office was indeed the person you mentioned, but he is an overseas Chinese who has been living abroad for many years and has returned home. Although he had learned from Europe and America and was outstanding in his skills, many comrades were afraid that since he had just returned to China, he was not familiar with things inside the city, so they hoped that you, who are more familiar with us, would take on the role of commander-in-chief of this uprising... to forge a new China together with our comrades..."

  His words were sincere and his face was full of extraordinary expectation.

  Wu Zhaolin hesitated for a moment before finally making up his mind, nodding his head in agreement to go with him.